Verboticism: Insoundmia
DEFINITION: n. Strange sounds that keep you awake in the middle of the night. v. To lie in bed unable to sleep because you keep hearing weird sounds.
Voted For: Insoundmia
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Audionocturn
Created by: pieceof314
Pronunciation: aw-dee-oh-nok-tern
Sentence: Jen stared at the spot on the wall directly above her head where the spider was half an hour ago. She became rigid each time she heard the creaking of the house as it contracted in the cool night air. The shades gently moved back and forth in the draft of the window sills. She was paralized by the audionocturnic noise that the old house emitted as the night wore on.
Etymology: audio, sound + nocturnal, of the night
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COMMENTS:
Have had nights like those... - Nosila, 2008-05-12: 19:24:00
Interesting! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-05-13: 07:23:00
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Creepsitation
Created by: mrskellyscl
Pronunciation: creeps-i-ta-tion
Sentence: Sue endured several long nights of creepsitation until she discovered that the dog had found a bag of corn chips and was eating them under the bed.
Etymology: creeps: a sensation of fear or repugnance as if your skin was crawling + crepitation: snapping or crackling noises
Cacoffiny
Created by: galwaywegian
Pronunciation: ka kofff in eeeeee
Sentence: The cacoffiny continued with the creaking hinge noise followed by the floorboard creaking noise and the strangest musty smell........
Etymology: cacophony coffin
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COMMENTS:
ok...I'm now sppoked! - Nosila, 2010-07-14: 00:00:00
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Oddiability
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: odd ee abil it ee
Sentence: Diurna woke up every morning absolutely drained. Just after she drifted off each evening, she experienced oddiability, that sense she heard weird noises that set her imagination into overdrive. The sensation also left her with the remnants of strange dreams. Casey at the bat, waiting for the vampire's ruling on a play, flying mice...
Etymology: Odd ( not easily explained;beyond or deviating from the usual or expected) & Ability ( possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done) & Audible (heard or perceptible by the ear)
Earitation
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: i(ə)ritāshən
Sentence: Nobody can explain why George\'s old house makes such strange noises. Sometimes it sounds like a cat caught in a trap, sometimes like somebody whispering. Whatever it is the earitation is enough to keep him awake all too many nights.
Etymology: ear (an organ sensitive to sound) + irritation (the state of feeling annoyed, impatient, or angry)
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COMMENTS:
eary word! - Nosila, 2010-07-14: 00:02:00
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Soundawake
Created by: TJayzz
Pronunciation: Sownd-a-wayk
Sentence: No wonder Mary was soundawake, it as all her own fault for hearing spooky noises in the middle of the night. She vowed never to watch horror films when she was alone ever again.
Etymology: Sound (Virbrations sensed by the ear) Awake (Not asleep, past-awoken) Opposite of sound asleep
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COMMENTS:
I liked this one. The only problem - if you don't immdiately catch the underlying connection to 'sound-asleep' it seems like an overly-simple response to the definition, (i.e. it may seem, at first, like you picked 2 words from the definition and stuck them together). Gets my vote though, for the clever double-meaning wordplay. - Tigger, 2008-05-13: 01:21:00
How true! Reminds me of a fairly recent film, "Eyes Wide Shut". Excellent word! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-05-13: 07:19:00
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Nightbumps
Created by: ErWenn
Pronunciation: /ˈnaɪtˌbʌmps/
Sentence: We decided that the poltergeist haunting our house must be either blind or clumsy when the nightbumps started sounding more like night-bump-ow-crash-$#!+s.
Etymology: from "things that go bump in the night"
Imagounds
Created by: Moonstar
Pronunciation: Image-ounds
Sentence: Vicky lie awake, staring up[ at the ceiling, eyes wide. Her breathing quickend as even more imagounds entered the room. There was a small thump, a squeak, a creak, a skitter. What was that!? Could it be....Yes, yes it was! The sound of a heartbeat, a HUMAN heartbeat! She sat up straight in bed, her hand on the knife she had kept stored beneath her pillow, ready to strike-but there was no one there.
Etymology: Imagined, as in the act of imagining, + Sounds, as in noises.
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COMMENTS:
Poe-etic tense to it! - Nosila, 2010-07-13: 23:59:00
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Insomniaudio
Created by: stache
Pronunciation: ĭn-sŏm'nē-ô'dē-ō'
Sentence: The irregular tapping of the branch of the old oak on the bedroom window became the insomniaudio, the percussion soundtrack of Beth's sleepless, windy Wednesday night.
Etymology: ins, var. of innies, type of belly button (see 'outies'); Omni, 1. science and space periodical, 2. former compact hatchback manufactured by the Dodge division of the pre-Benz Chrysler Corp, also released as the Plymouth Horizon; Audi, German manufacturer of, among other models, the A8 and TT; o, nil or zero.
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COMMENTS:
I like the sound of your word - Jabberwocky, 2008-05-12: 13:52:00
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Dinsomnia
Created by: Tigger
Pronunciation: /din-SOM-nee-uh/
Sentence: Lying in bed and staring toward the ceiling, Michelle sighed again, kept awake by the dinsomnia that had plagued her every night this week. There were the 'creekity-creeks' that Jack had explained were just the roof beams contracting in the cooler evenings, the 'tick, tick, tick, hiss' of the hot water pipes, the faint 'thump, thump, thump' of the refrigerator in the kitchen, and the 'drip, drip' of the leaky bathroom faucet. But what on earth was that 'clankety, clank' noise that sounded like it was coming from the attic? It didn't fit in with the familiar nighttime rhythm, and Michelle winced every time she heard it.
Etymology: Din - sound with clamor or persistent repetition (from Old English, dyne "loud noise") + Insomnia - an inability to sleep; chronic sleeplessness (Latin, insomnia "want of sleep" from in- "not" + somnus "sleep")
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COMMENTS:
Great minds think alike...? Or is it fools seldom differ???? - Nosila, 2008-05-12: 02:13:00
So the saying goes, but to our mutual credit, I'd like to think that I'm a unique sort of fool. You decide. - Tigger, 2008-05-12: 02:37:00
had to give you a vote each in the interests of fairness. - galwaywegian, 2008-05-12: 12:00:00
Too kind, galwaywegian, thanks! - Nosila, 2008-05-12: 19:26:00
Clever blend! - OZZIEBOB, 2008-05-13: 07:26:00
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